


Miraculous Leap

by feminaexlux



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, F/M, Fluff, House Band, I basically took Ver's ideas and ran with it, I tried adding some future techy stuff but that's all background, Mild Language, Of course the last chapter is more words than the first two combined, Pregnancy, Self-Indulgent, i'm bad at planning, lukanette endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28319076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feminaexlux/pseuds/feminaexlux
Summary: An akuma puts Ladybug and Viperion into their future selves.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 31
Kudos: 148





	1. Miraculous Leap

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all, I wanted to share this little story with you! I've been wanting to write something like this since _last year_ , shortly after I started working on [A Needed Miracle](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21663007). I can't really explain _why_ I wanted to, but in any case here it is. Hope you enjoy and Happy Holidays!

She found herself looking down at a pair of bright blue eyes. Ladybug blinked a couple of times, wondering just what happened. A split second ago she had launched herself at Viperion and tried to get them out of the way of an oncoming blast of… whatever it was… and now she was here, on her hands and knees hovering over someone who looked… a _lot_ like Viperion… except untransformed.

And older.

And her body felt… _off_. Like, really _off_. She felt a weird pressure everywhere but especially near her stomach. Oh, and there was… something really, really profoundly concerning that she couldn’t really articulate or describe.

“Are you alright?” The man below her asked.

_Wow,_ Marinette thought. His voice was deeper, silkier, and kinda _hot._ “Um,” she said, startled at her own voice being deeper as well. “I… think I need to get up.” She shuffled off to his side a little awkwardly, feeling very heavy around the midsection. She sat up and looked down at her belly.

It freaked her out a little bit. She was _big_. And then she felt… something moving inside of her. A… A-a-a baby? She… was pregnant? And not only that, but she wasn’t transformed! Oh… oh no. How could she be pregnant? She was only 14 and had only gone so far as to _kiss_ a few boys was she hallucinating was this the akuma?! Oh no she had to fix this right now.

Where even were they? She finally glanced up and took a look at her surroundings. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Viperion had been fighting the akuma on the rooftops of Paris, but now it looked like she was sitting on a bed in someone’s bedroom. A well-decorated bedroom in her opinion, full of music posters, rich fabrics, and even some fantastic looking handmade decorations.

For some reason her brain started replaying a memory of her dad talking about one of his favorite sci-fi shows called _Quantum Leap_ , where the main character’s consciousness “leaps” into other people to help solve their issues. This _must_ be something similar.

Okay. She could look at it that way. She just happened to “leap” into someone who was… pregnant.

She just happened to “leap” into someone who was… in their bedroom at the time.

She just happened to “leap” into someone who had been pregnant, in their bedroom, on their hands and knees over a ridiculously good looking dude who happened to look like an older version of Luka Couffaine.

Marinette had the distinct feeling something intimate had been interrupted. _Oh. No._

“This is going to sound weird, but,” the man started. “I think we were both attacked by an akuma.” Marinette looked over her shoulder and she finally took a better glance at the man. He… he definitely looked like an older Luka. Had long black hair that went down to his mid back and… and blue ombre tips. Black flat stud earrings. Same blue eyes. Same angular facial features with high cheekbones but slightly longer and filled out.

Oh and he was shirtless. Marinette noticed his large arm tattoo right away after she stopped scrutinizing his face. A teal diamond-patterned snake with peony and… apple blossom flowers filling the spaces in between the snake’s coils.

“I honestly don’t know what happened or where we are,” he half-chuckled, curling in slightly on himself trying to come off as non-threatening as he could. “One second I was in the middle of helping out some friends and the next I’m here. You looked as surprised as I was so I thought you were also affected.”

Marinette found herself nodding. “Y-yeah, same. I-I-I’m pretty shocked, yeah,” she stuttered. “Sorry, I… I think I need some time.”

He nodded and got off the bed, standing up. He was tall, apparently. “I'm… going to find some water. Did you want any?”

“That sounds great, actually,” Marinette agreed. “Thank you.” He gave her a lopsided smile and walked out of the bedroom.

Marinette shook her head and patted her cheeks with her hands, trying to refocus. So what if that smile reminded her way too much of Luka? She might have been projecting the closest looking friend onto this poor man. She needed to find a purse or wallet, a phone, a _mirror_ , something that might give Marinette a clue into _who_ she had “leapt” into. Okay.

Okay. Purse… purse… phone? Where would a purse or a phone be? Marinette scanned the room and squeaked out loud. She found a purse, alright, but it was _her_ purse. Her pink and white polka dot hip purse with the signature _M_ logo resting on what looked like a nightstand. What the _heck_ was it doing here?!

Wait, maybe that meant Tikki was here too?

She got up gingerly, resting a hand against her belly and hoping she wouldn’t fall. She toddled over to the purse and opened it, hoping to find a wallet or phone. She did find a wallet and she opened it up, looking through and trying to find an ID.

She didn’t find Tikki. But she did find an ID. She kept herself from screaming.

Okay. There must be some magic happening that made her see the familiar in the unfamiliar. To protect herself from going nuts or something? She stared back down at the ID card. It had her name on it.

Her face, too. Older. She looked happy.

Except her last name was Couffaine. Her eyes were playing tricks on her. That was it.

Her phone, where was her phone? Okay, she found it. She found it (surprisingly it just looked like a shiny pink glass rectangle with softened edges, there wasn’t even a case) and it automatically unlocked after recognizing her thumbprint on the screen. After greeting her with a “Good Evening” there had been a still image of a bunch of kids of various ages, all with black hair and blue eyes. Mmkay. There were two girls and two boys, the two boys looked like identical twins. One of the girls looked suspiciously like a younger Marinette herself, but… the girl’s eyes were the wrong shade of blue.

The rest of the kids looked like… maybe a blend of her and Luka. Oh no.

Okay, she was getting distracted. And then she noticed the date. It was the right calendar date but the day of the week was wrong. She blinked a couple of times on that, so she navigated to her calendar. All the dates were on the wrong days… Oh and the year was 20 years in the future.

She had to sit down.

Luka came back with two glasses of water. At least, Marinette was pretty sure it was actually Luka. “I brought some water for you,” he said, instantly looking worried when he found her sitting on the floor. “Hey, are you doing okay?” He knelt down next to her.

Marinette looked up at him, taking her glass. “I don’t know,” she said. “Are… are you Luka Couffaine?” He nodded slowly. “Huh, just a few minutes ago I was 14, and now it looks like I’m 34. And your wife.” _And pregnant with our **5th** child._

He looked down at his hands. He wore several rings but there was a simple gold band around his left ring finger. Marinette had a rose gold band on hers. “Are you Marinette?” he asked quietly, looking back up at her. She nodded back and they stared at each other for a while, glasses of water forgotten.

“I think this is our future,” Marinette said.


	2. 5 Minutes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw I'm heavily referencing [We Have a Problem](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23549761) by @verfound 'cuz I can take partial ownership of Dewey hehehe. Ages are fudged around for convenience

As soon as he left the bedroom and was out of sight Luka felt his knees start to buckle and he let himself slump to the floor. Hopefully she didn’t hear that. A minute ago he’d been reaching for his bracelet to set Second Chance but then Ladybug collided into him and they were sent tumbling to the ground. When he had opened his eyes he found…

He was almost dead certain that it was _Marinette_ propping herself up over him. Even if she looked older he wouldn’t have mistaken those eyes for anyone else’s. Those eyes looked as surprised as he was. While she had moved over to his side to sit up he had taken a quick scan of the room and of her. She looked… very curvy? … And pregnant. It was incredibly… well. There’d been a mix of feelings he couldn’t put words to.

But the room? Deep down inside, he had an odd sense of being at home. And as he took some deep, meditative breaths to control his heartrate he knew whatever _this_ was, it wasn’t a dream. It had too much… certainty and realness to it.

Marinette was looking panicked, so he had offered to get some water. He needed some water himself. He also needed to leave the room so he could freak out in private and not upset her any more than she was already, and that was why he was more or less faceplanted on the floor out of view right now.

What _was_ the akuma? It had some ability to see the future, which was why Viperion was called out to help Ladybug and Chat Noir in the first place. No one on the Miraculous team had known that it had the power to send people into the future, however. Luka was sure _that_ was what had happened. Ladybug and Viperion got hit with the akuma’s blast and… now Marinette and Luka were here, in their future. _ONE_ future, he should say.

It wasn’t necessarily set in stone. Luka knew how much could change in just 5 minutes.

He knew Marinette was Ladybug. Marinette might try to convince him she _wasn’t_ Ladybug if it ever came up. He’d have to roll with it and make her as comfortable as he could. Or maybe he could steer the conversation away from that in the first place. She might never call on him to be Viperion again if he told her that he knew and had known for a while.

Because even if Marinette had always looked over Luka for Adrien, Luka wanted to spend whatever time he could with her, in her super Miraculous suit or in her normal everyday clothes.

He got back up on his feet and sighed to himself, looking into the different rooms he passed as he meandered his way blindly toward a kitchen. There were a few rooms that had been for kids, he thought. He walked by what looked like Marinette’s crafting workshop, full of partially dressed mannequins and half-finished projects and colorful children’s drawings. A hallway he passed through was full of pictures of kids he didn’t recognize, but they all had a strong familiarity.

Probably because they were his kids. His and Marinette’s. He could hardly believe it, but his older self and Marinette’s older self were there throughout most of the pictures too.

One thing caught his attention outside of the kids’ pictures: a flatscreen in a large ornate frame playing a soundless video in the center of the hallway wall. It was of him and Marinette on what looked like their wedding day. He had swept her up off her feet in her wedding dress and she had her arms wrapped around his shoulders. She had been laughing and then had leaned in to kiss him.

Luka watched that replay a few times. They looked happy. He hoped that future Marinette didn’t have any regrets.

After the replays he realized that they didn’t look that old in the clip. Well, not much older than they were… now? Before the akuma? Definitely not teenagers anymore, but not more than a few years after they both left their teens.

So how did he manage to get all this? What happened that let Marinette finally _see_ him? Did his future self leave any hints?

Last he knew of anything, Marinette had come back to the Liberty from her class’ New York trip and admitted to the GirlSquad™️ (while Luka was within earshot) that she was still in love with Adrien. _“I-I mean there’s plenty of reasons to love him… he’s so cute and talented and smart and–and… and I think everyone keeps saying we were **made for each other** but… but it’s so hard,”_ Marinette had groaned. _“Why is it so hard?”_

Luka had made his presence known so he wouldn’t be unintentionally eavesdropping something he wasn’t supposed to. Any more than was already said, anyway. He had started to leave when Rose stopped him then. _“Luka! You’re a boy! You know what boys think! What do you think is going on with Adrien?”_

Luka had laughed and said he didn’t know. _“What I know is that it isn’t supposed to be easy. It’s something you have to keep working on. But it’s supposed to lift you up and make you feel stronger.”_ He then left the girls in their plotting/scheming/arguing to lounge back in his room. He had been surprised when a few minutes later Marinette came to join him.

_“It doesn’t make me feel stronger. I just feel dumb,”_ Marinette said then, quietly. He had let her stay with him while he played random songs on his guitar, trying to cheer her up. She had finally started smiling again when he played her song, except with a little bit more flare and bubblegum pop. It was what he heard in his head when she was happy. _“Thank you. You know, I feel less dumb being here with you.”_

He finally reached something like a kitchen. It’d been huge and there were clear boxy canisters of different types of flours and sugars and mix-ins… He saw a high end mixer and maybe 30 different types of baking sheets. Looked like Marinette still put her baking knowledge to use.

Alright enough being distracted, he shouldn’t leave Marinette alone too long. He grabbed two clean glasses and got water from the fridge’s built in dispenser and headed back the way he came.

“I brought some water for you.” He was a little worried when he saw her on the floor. He had no idea what it was like being pregnant but it couldn’t have been easy… “Hey, are you doing okay?”

Marinette took the water gratefully. “I don’t know… Are… are you Luka Couffaine?” He nodded. “Huh, just a few minutes ago I was 14, and now it looks like I’m 34. And your wife.”

There was something to her voice… she wasn’t _horrified_ , which was good news. There’d still been some confusion, maybe? And a little disbelief. That was as much as could be expected from Marinette, Luka supposed.

He was pretty sure she was Marinette, but it would be all kinds of messed up if he just found someone who looked a lot like her. It’d been her art, her designs, her baking… right? No one else could just… be all that she was. He had to be sure. “Are you Marinette?”

She looked up at him with her light blue eyes. It _had_ to be Marinette. There’d been a wave of relief that washed over him when she nodded.

“I think this is our future,” she said.

* * *

_(Meanwhile…)_

Luka blinked and… all of a sudden his wife had a Ladybug mask on. He hadn’t seen that on her for months now ( _he_ had the Ladybug Miraculous since she was _pregnant_ ) which was the first clue that something had rudely interrupted them. He groaned internally and tried to mentally ping Sass or Tikki to see if there was anything to worry about. Marinette looked as bewildered as he was. He took her shoulders and gently pressed them both up to sitting.

Okay, well, she was… she was definitely not pregnant and therefore not his Marinette. Then he noticed he was suited up as Viperion. _Ah, it ssseemsss you have been… regressssed, Massster,_ Sass said in his head. God, Marinette looked… what, 15? And Sass hadn’t called him “Master” in forever.

_Do you know what happened?_ Luka asked Sass.

_There is an akuma who controlsss time._ Well, of course. _Their power has ssswapped you with your younger ssself,_ Sass answered.

Luka had to stop himself from laughing. His younger self was in for one hell of a surprise. That aside, he had to check on _this_ Marinette. “Hey, are you okay?”

Ladybug looked up at him and brushed through his hair with her fingers. “ _Viperion?_ Your hair… It’s so short…? Wait… wait wh–where's…” She looked down at herself and patted her stomach. “D-D-Dew–”

Oh, Dewey. Viperion pulled Ladybug in for a hug as she started crying. She _was_ his Marinette and… and their son was in the future, not here with them. “He’s alright. He’s waiting for us. We’re somehow in the past, but we’ll get back home.”

Well, shit, that meant that the younger Marinette was in the future as well.

“I-I-I thought I had l-lost him,” Ladybug said quietly, her voice breaking.

“Hey… guys…” Chat said awkwardly after landing nearby. “Milady! What’s wrong?!”

Right. Chat Noir. At 15. This was going to be annoying as fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm also following Ver's IPA pronunciations so something like "is" and "has" do not have elongated s's 'cause they're actually [z] sounds
> 
> TheMoreYouKnow.gif


	3. Stronger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ending this year with Lukanette again! Hoping it brings good tidings for 2021 (better than 2020 that’s for sure)! Happy New Year!
> 
> FYI: Dewey = Dominic :)

Ladybug brushed away her tears and smiled back up at Viperion. “Okay,” she said shakily, nodding to indicate that she understood. “Okay.”

They were in the past, or at least they were currently occupying their past selves. Hmm, how long ago was this? Ladybug looked back down at her suit and it was that ridiculous basic-ass red and black polka dot version. She didn’t even have her wings. Okay, that narrowed it down to… younger than 16?

Ugh, that _sucked_. No one in their right mind would ever want to repeat their awkward teenage years over again, but… as much as she loved Dewey and wanted him with her at least right now she wasn’t feeling like she’d swallowed a basketball. And she currently didn’t have any back pain, which was a bonus.

_Tikki, I need my wings,_ Ladybug thought at Tikki.

Tikki sounded a little startled to be pinged directly like she just was. _Oh… um… Okay, Marinette!_

She suddenly felt herself being wrenched away from Luka by another person before her wings fully manifested. “H-Hey!” She yelled out.

Chat had pulled her behind him and was aiming his baton at Viperion. “Don’t touch her, you jerk! What _did you do?!_ Why’d you make her cry?!”

“Chat… wh-what?” Ladybug sputtered. She heard Viperion growling under his breath.

“Are you okay, Milady?” Chat called out over his shoulder. Oh God, not _this_ phase. She saw Luka clench his jaw and fold his arms but otherwise he was remaining still. Luka was pissed at the way she was being handled but he knew better than to step in and make things worse… Though Marinette knew he had a limit.

Ladybug sighed. “Chat, I’m fine!” Of course Chat wasn’t standing down.

“Here’s what’s going on,” Viperion said, sounding clipped. “This akuma controls time. Its power is to swap someone from a different time period in their life to here. Long story short the Ladybug and Viperion here now are from the future. I’m from the future. She’s from the future. We’re from the _same_ future, since your LB and Viperion got hit with the same blast. We’d both been… taking care of someone, and it was terrifying that he wasn’t here with us.”

Chat was taken aback and reacted like he’d just been slapped. “Who… Both of…? No, nevermind. You guys… don’t _look_ like you’re from the future,” he said suspiciously.

Viperion took a deep inhale and long exhale in annoyance. “It was a mental swap. Sorry. Should have clarified.” Thank God her husband had the patience he did. But oh shit–

“V! 7 o'clock!” Ladybug yelled out, pushing Chat out of her way. Ladybug wasn’t 100% certain Viperion had access to all of his abilities so she had started to get her yoyo shield ready. Viperion turned in the direction she specified and caught the blast before it landed, reversing time itself and pushing the blast back to its origin. Okay, that question answered. Viperion had what he needed.

“Wow! What was _that?!_ ” Chat cried out in astonishment. “Oh holy crud, Ladybug, you–you can _fly?!_ ”

“Chat! Focus! We need to take care of this akuma!” Ladybug called out. The sooner they finish, the sooner she and Luka can get back to… She snorted to herself. What an awkward time for her past self to end up in.

* * *

_(Back in the future…)_

“I can’t believe we have 5 kids,” Marinette started laughing. It… oddly didn’t bother her all that much. After all, with a certain someone she had imagined having up to 3. 5… was… well, definitely way less believable, but it didn’t _bother_ her.

Luka looked a little embarrassed and took a drink of his water. He just shrugged and sat down on the floor next to Marinette, pressing his back up against the edge of the bed. “I didn’t have a plan for anything,” he said sheepishly. “Just me and my guitar for… ever, I guess.”

Marinette blinked in surprise. “You never planned to ask me out?”

“Didn’t seem like you’d be interested,” he said, raising an eyebrow at her question. “I don’t mean for this to sound bad but… I don’t know how we got…” He gestured at the room. “Here.”

_It’s ‘cause he thinks you’re in love with Adrien, duh_ , Marinette chided herself. But… but _was_ she… really?

“Wait… where _are_ … the kids?” Luka asked.

“With my parents,” Marinette answered. “Seems like they all go over pretty regularly,” she said, showing Luka her calendar. Every 2 weekends she had an event called “Kids @ T/S,” with the alternate weekends being labeled “Kids w/Granarka.” Well, that was extremely nice of their parents to take on… “We must like these kids if we wanted 5 of them,” Marinette mumbled to herself. She opened up her phone’s photos and looked through the albums.

She noticed that Luka had leaned in a little to look over her shoulder. “Sorry,” he said, pulling back.

“No, they're… yours too,” she laughed. She angled the phone so the both of them could see.

“Harmony” was the oldest at 9, the most recent video had her playing a yellow electric guitar and singing on stage by herself at what looked like a small café. There were so many pictures and videos of her at these showings, and in a number of them it looked like future Luka was just offstage cheering her on.

“Melody” was second oldest at 6, and it seemed like she was a little copy of Marinette herself. Marinette couldn’t help but smile down at the photos of her future second daughter dressing up and posing in various costumes and placing scrap fabric pieces together on the floor in make-believe designs. Apparently Marinette would have a protégé to call her own.

“Hugo & Louis” were the twin boys, still toddlers at 3. They always had silly faces on in all the pictures Marinette and Luka scanned. She had a video of future Luka tossing both boys into a ball pit and them giggling like maniacs, enjoying the airtime and landing in an explosion of brightly colored plastic balls.

And finally, “Dominic” was an album full of sonograms. Marinette patted her stomach. “Well, hello Dominic,” she said. “I wish we met under better circumstances. I hope you’re alright.”

There had been another album labeled “Us” that Marinette scrolled through. Stills of future Marinette and future Luka together at award shows or at fashion events. Selfie videos of them sending jokes to one another. Pictures of future Luka working in his studio or playing his guitar or hanging out with friends.

Future Marinette adored him. Every picture had him smiling back or pleasantly surprised.

One selfie from several months ago had him with his arms wrapped around her from behind, leaning down to kiss her shoulder as she held up 3 different positive pregnancy test results in front of the bathroom mirror. Future them looked so _happy_.

Suddenly an awful, sinking feeling hit Marinette.

“We’re not going to remember this,” she said to Luka, and it was something like anguish that made her voice sound so raw. “Probably? Sometimes no one remembers what happened when the Miraculous Ladybugs reset everything…” She saw his eyes widen. “I don't… This… I-I… I want to remember this!”

His eyes widened further in surprise as both eyebrows went up. “You do?”

“Yeah! I mean, look at us! We’re so… so… Wait… do _you_ want… all this?”

Luka looked somewhat incredulous. “You remember I had zero plans, right? I didn’t think about dating or marriage or kids.” Marinette felt like a balloon (pregnancy aside) that just got punctured. For some reason her heart ached. “I mean… I never figured I’d get anywhere with you past being your friend. I didn’t think you liked me that way at all. This? All this,” he pointed at the pictures, “wasn’t even a possibility.” He closed his eyes.

Marinette wasn’t sure what to say.

“Wasn’t before,” he said quietly, after a few moments. He started staring off into the distance. “Now? Do I want this?” He dropped his gaze to his left ring finger, then back up at her. “Yeah. Yes. But I don’t want you to start liking me because of this. Futures aren’t ever set in stone.” He stared back off into space. “Honestly I want us to forget this. It’s nice. Really nice. And maybe it won’t happen. It’d hurt a lot to know what I missed out on.”

Oh. Oh no. She’d been doing the Chat thing where she was barreling toward a specific outcome without thinking about the process or journey. Luka was right. Maybe it wouldn’t happen. Not without her taking honest stock of her feelings first.

Did she want… him?

_“It’s supposed to lift you up and make you feel stronger.”_ Chat had done that for her once. Then recently it’d been more like “Don’t focus on the bad stuff.” That didn’t stop the bad stuff from existing.

Adrien had done that for her when he said she was the “Everyday Ladybug.” And then it felt that no matter what she did he kept getting further and further away. And Adrien hadn’t reached back out for her to help close the distance.

“Sorry,” Luka said, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Guess I’m just… worried.”

Marinette looked at him. “No, you’re right. It would be unfair if all I wanted was the result.” She paused for a few seconds to think her words through.

“I’m not going to _start_ liking you because we got to experience this future,” Marinette began again. “I don’t even know when it really started. I just know I already do. You’ve never made me feel like I was wrong. You’ve never made me doubt myself. You’ve never made me think for one second I’d have to watch the things I say and the things I do or pretend to be friends with the people who’ve hurt me. You’ve always let me be who I am.”

He had turned to look at her, worry and concern etched in the furrows of his brows. But the edges had softened as she talked.

Marinette smiled shyly. “I know it’s not going to be easy… and it’s something we’ll have to keep working on… but I’d like to find out how far we can go together.” She held out her hand to him, palm up. “I want… us. _An_ us… whatever it looks like in the end.”

Luka searched her face for a few heartbeats and took a breath, seemingly content with whatever he found. He gave her a lopsided smile. “I want that too.” He reached out and took her hand.

* * *

_(The “past”)_

“Miracu–!” Ladybug was getting ready to launch her Lucky Charm up in the air when Chat stopped her.

“Wait! Wait wait wait. Please. Can… can I talk with you… in private? For a little bit, Milady?” Chat looked down at her pleading with his most pathetic looking kitten eyes and Ladybug sighed. She glanced back at Viperion, who cocked his head a tiny bit to the side and smiled.

Like Luka was shrugging a _What can you do?_

Marinette winked back a _Won’t take long_ , handed Viperion the Lucky Charm, and turned back to Chat. “Alright. The rules are I’m not going to tell you any details but we can talk.”

Chat jumped over to another rooftop and down into the alley below, putting a few buildings between him and Viperion. Ladybug followed behind him, floating down with her wings. Chat leaned his back against the brick wall and folded his arms. “Did… I ever have a chance with you?”

Huh. Okay. Chat was more observant than she remembered him being at 15. “Hmm, yes,” Ladybug answered. She knew who he was, after all.

“Then… I guess I screwed up,” Chat said miserably. “I always thought we were made for each other, you know?”

“We might have been once,” Ladybug said gently. “But we both _grew_ up, Chat. Neither of us screwed up at all.”

Chat furrowed his brows at that. “Is there anything I can do now to change?”

“You wouldn’t be you, Chat.” She walked over to him and pulled him into a hug, leaving a hand on his shoulder after stepping back. “I know it’s not what you thought you wanted, but your future will still be amazing.”

“Are… you happy?”

Ladybug had a serene smile, glancing back in Viperion’s general direction with her hands now over her heart. “I am.”

Chat stared at her for a bit. Something about the quiet conviction she had was more… meaningful than if she’d been animated about saying it.

There was nothing to prove to anyone. It was just the truth.

Chat sighed audibly. “Okay, Ladybug. Thanks,” he gave her a small smile. “Sorry. You need to get back home, right?” Ladybug nodded. “Then let’s get going!”

Moments later Ladybug and Chat Noir landed together in front of Viperion, who handed the Lucky Charm back to her. She threw it high into the sky and said “Miraculous Ladybugs!”

Ladybug reached out her hand and Viperion took it in his. They smiled at each other when the waves of ladybugs passed over them.

* * *

Ladybug blinked a few times, her brain a little foggy after being hit with that blast. She’d been trying to save Viperion from the akuma’s attack… She must have been a little too slow. Wait, where were they? And Viperion was in front of her now, and he looked… okay?

He was staring down at something. When she looked in the same direction she saw that they were holding hands. A small part of her panicked and wanted to pull away, but… an overwhelmingly larger part of her… liked it? Viperion hadn’t pulled away either. So she… didn’t pull away.

“Welcome back, Viperbug,” Chat laughed, his baton across his shoulders with his hands on either end.

“What… happened?” Ladybug asked, her cheeks slightly pinking as she kept a hold of Viperion. It just felt… kinda nice.

“There was something about the future,” Viperion said, still staring down at their linked hands. “I feel like there was something important, but… I can’t seem to remember.”

“Yeah, you guys got hit by the akuma but we still managed to take care of it. Paris is safe again,” Chat smiled. “I’m heading out. See you guys later!” he yelled out, leaping away after saluting.

Huh. It felt like Chat wanted to leave faster than usual. He didn’t even stop for their typical _“Bien Joué!”_

“… I guess we’re done here? Alright, I’ll drop you back off at home,” Ladybug said to Viperion.

* * *

_(One day later)_

“Hey Marinette,” Luka said from behind her. Marinette yelped and windmilled forward, nearly falling over but quickly got back to her feet and spun on her heels to face him. “… Are you looking for Juleka?” He had a smile on his face… one part amusement by her antics and another part joy in seeing her.

She’d come onboard the Liberty and stood on the deck… there wasn’t any real reason why, she just kinda… showed up. “Ah haha, um, no, no I a-actually… I was just um! Looking around! Yeah! The-The stage!” Oh God why did she say that.

Luka rolled with it, even though Marinette was certain he knew she just made that up. “Sure, feel free. It’s good to see you.”

“Too! It’s you! I mean it’s good to you! See you. Too,” she laughed nervously. He moved around her and set his backpack down against the atrium couch. She slapped both hands to her face and cringed when she thought he wasn’t looking at her. _Auuugh._

“I’m gonna get a snack. Do you want anything?”

She jumped again, hiding her hands behind her back. “Oh! S-sure, thanks, that’s great.”

“Cool, do you want to follow me down and let me know what you’d like?” She nodded and went to the main cabin with him. She sat down at the kitchen counter bar and asked for juice, sipping it nervously when he sat in the seat next to her.

“I… I actually just wanted to talk with you,” she said. “You… said I can just be myself around you.” It had been hard to look at him so she just stared at her glass, feeling self conscious.

“Yeah, always,” he said easily. He’d gotten some yogurt for himself, but he hadn’t opened it up yet. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I… There was… You know…” she started, sighing when she couldn’t get the words she wanted out. “I’m not sure how to say it but… have you ever gotten the sense that you… missed something really important? Like you got caught up in something… silly and there was this really cool person you passed by 'cause you were distracted.” She finally looked up at him.

“If they’re still around you still have a chance to say hi,” he smiled at her. “People are pretty chill, and I’m sure they’d love to talk with you.” He opened up his yogurt and took a spoonful.

Marinette was pretty sure she was blushing. “Y-Yeah, he’s pretty chill. Soooo. Hah, um. _Hi_.”

With the spoon in his mouth he got out a “Hmm?”

“Wanna… see a movie?” She should clarify. “J-Just us! No group!” She should _further_ clarify. “A date! It’s a date! I’m asking!”

He swallowed too fast and started coughing. At least he hadn’t swallowed the spoon. “Ah,” he laughed after recovering. “That sounds great, but…” Marinette’s heart jumped into her throat. “I wanna make sure you're… sure,” he said awkwardly. “Sure you’re not… missing out on what you really want,” he added, blushing a bit himself.

“Th-That’s why… I’m asking,” she said shyly. “I-I think… What I really want is… something new. Someone that helps make me better, you know? Makes me happy too. And… I’ve been thinking about you.”

“Me,” he said, sounding a little surprised.

Marinette nodded. “Are… are you… interested?”

He took her hand in his. “Yeah. Definitely.”


End file.
